Artificial tooth.



Patented sept. 29, 1914.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE L. BIEN VENU, or NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

ARTIFICI AL TOOTH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. BIENVENU,-

a citizen of theUnited States of America, and resident of New ()rleans,in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Artificial Teeth, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to dentistry and particularly to artificialteeth.

An object of this invention is to provide novel means for producingartificial teeth having -a metallic backing, preferably of platinum andnovel means for securing the platinum to the artificial teeth orporcelain, wherein the joint between the metal and the porcelain isleak-proof and whereby 'the metal is held securely in place through themedium of an anchor embedded in the porcelain, the same being soembedded when the tooth is molded and produced.

A still further object of this invention is to produce an artificialtooth in which the porcelain forming the tooth has molded into it aplate retaining device, the said plate retaining device likewise servingas an anchorage for a plate forming thebacking of the tooth, the saidplate retaining device be ing caused to remain in place by reason of itsbeing baked when the porcelain is undergoing the process of hardeningand in course of manufacture.

It has been found in practice that artificial teeth now in use in crownand bridge work, known as pin facings, require a metallic backing'toreceive the solder, and by the process of soldering, backing and pin aresoldered together and same to crown or connects same to bridge, as thecase may be; and when gold is used as a backing there is a liability ofdiscoloration and also a chance of borax (which is used in the processof soldering) finding its way between pin and backing and affecting thetooth, causing it to check. There is also liability of burning thebacking. and even when platinum is used, checking is not eliminated.

A still further object of this invention is the. method and means foranchoring the metallic hacking and in having the securing piu so locatedwith respect tothe cutting edge and the shoulder of the artificial tooththat a pin of a small size may be employed, resulting in economy ofmaterial employed in manufacturing.

With the foregoing and other objects in Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 20, 1913.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914..

Serial No. 807,966.

view, the invention ,consists in the details of construction and in thearrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully setforth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings forming part of this specification wherein likecharacters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in Ywhich- Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of an artificial toothwith the backing applied thereto; Fig. 2 illustrates acentral verticalsectional view thereof; Fig. 3 illustrates a plan view of the backingplate; Fig. 4: illustrates a perspective view thereof; and Fig.

illustrates a sectional view showing the application of the backingemployed in connection with artificial teeth to be substituted for thebicuspids or molars.

In these drawings 6 denotes the porcelain body, 7 the wire, preferablyof platinum, of curved formation and having the body portion thereofembedded in the porcelain, the ends thereof projecting beyond the rearwall of the said porcelain. As has been stated,

the location of the ends of the wire or pin is of importance for byreason of its engaging the plate 8 near the cutting edge of theporcelain tooth and the shoulder thereof. the anchoring pin or wire maybe comparatively small and yet it will be found sufficiently strong toretain the backing in place, es ecially so as, as has been stated, thebacking plate is to all intents and purposes an integral part of theporcelain, due to the fact that the metal and porcelain are baked whilethe porcelain is undergoing the process of hardening.

The ends 9 of the pins may be offset or riveted or they may be securedby solder.

Fig. 5 illustrates the manner of forming the artificial teeth which areto be used as substitutes for the bicuspids and molars, the samecomprising porcelain 10 having a concaved surface 11 and a backing 12conforming to the contour of the rear surface of the teeth, said backingbeing furthermore held in place by a pin or wire 13 which performs, inthis construction, the function of the wire or pin 7 heretoforedescribed. The purpose of producing the teeth shown in Fig. 5 with theconcaved and curved rear wall or side is to provide a cavity or recessto accommodate solder which may be used for securing bridges in placeand in order that the said solder Wlllfill out the curve of the hollowmaking the rear wall practically straight when so filled out. Theprovision thus made for receiving the solder will permit theconstruction of bridge-Work Without making the same bulky andfurthermore as the cuspids of the teeth will be porcelain throughout,

the appearance of the same will be natural.

1 claim In an artificial tooth, a porcelain body, a

metallic backing therefor, and a wire for securing the backing bakedtogether, said Wire being embedded in the porcelain and having endsprojecting through the rear Wall thereof and through the backing forsecuring the 15

